Easy Hummus Recipe – How to Make Hummus From Scratch

Hummus is a delicious Middle-Eastern dip made from boiled Chickpeas, lemon juice, and Tahini sauce and which is served as an appetizer with pita bread.

The word Hummus literally translates to chickpeas from Arabic. Its origins are believed to be from the Shami region (Lebanon/Syria/Palestine/Jordan) however the Lebanese are pushing hard to reclaim credit for it. A couple of years ago a large group of zealous Lebanese chefs broke the Guinness world record by creating the largest Hummus plate in the world weighing over 2 Tons, that’s more than 4,000 lbs of Hummus just to make a statement that Hummus is originally Lebanese.

How to Make Hummus From Scratch at Home

Making hummus at home from scratch is a very simple process summarized as follows: first you soak chickpeas overnight, rinse with fresh water, boil for about an hour, then while still hot mash them in a food processor with Tahini paste, garlic, some salt and lemon juice for a few minutes and voila!

Serve hot with a drizzle of quality olive oil along a side of salted cucumber pickles, chili pickles, olives and some greens such as mint, green peppers and onions.

Below is a photo of a Hummus plate I had at the Dannoun Restaurant in Tripoli, Lebanon. Dannoun makes the best Hummus ever, hands-down! They have their own special way of making it extremely smooth and they of course serve it hot with freshly baked pita bread.

Learn How to Make Hummus From Scratch at Home Using this Easy Lebanese Style Hummus Recipe.

Ingredients

1 lbs dried chickpeas

4 garlic cloves, crushed

8 tablespoons tahini paste (pureed sesame)

Olive oil to taste

⅔ cup of fresh lemon juice

¼ teaspoon Paprika

⅓ to ½ teaspoon salt

Instructions

Rinse the dry chickpeas to get rid of any debris, then soak for 10 hours with ½ teaspoon of baking soda. If you don’t prefer to use baking soda, you’ll just have to boil them for a longer time so they get soft. Baking soda helps softening them quicker.

Once ready, empty the soaked chickpeas in a colander/filter to get rid of the soaking water, then rinse it with fresh cold water really well.

Add the chickpeas to a cooking pot with ½ teaspoon of baking soda (optional, just to speed the process) and then add about 6 cups of water (or until water covers the chickpeas by about ½ inch).

Bring it to a boil on high heat, then let it simmer on low heat for about 1 hour while the pot is covered.

Check up on the chickpeas 45 minutes into simmering to see if it’s done. The test is simple, try to crush a chickpea with your fingers, if it crushes easily and feels smooth then it’s done.

Once the chickpeas are cooked, and while still hot add them immediately to a food processor with ½ to 1 cup of warm water and grind for a 3-5 minutes at low speed.

Add the salt and garlic, then slowly start to add the Tahini paste as the food processor grinds away.

Once done, slowly add the lemon juice at the end and let the food processor run for a couple minutes more afterwards. Taste the beautiful puree and see if it needs an adjustment of salt or lemon juice.

Notes: Some folks suggest adding the boiled chickpeas water to the food processor instead of regular warm water. You could do that and result in a slightly richer taste, however the resulting hummus may be a bit tougher on the tummy due to all the baking soda in the water.

As soon as the water starts boiling, a white foam will appear on the top, try to scrape out as much of it as possible (without removing water).

Thank you! For creamier, smoother hummus I use a blender instead of a food processor. My father taught me this trick - start with your liquids and 2-3 cloves of garlic(liquids, per 2 cans of chick peas: ~1/3-1/2 c. drained liquid from chick peas, juice of a lemon, 1.5 T oil, 1.5 T tahini). Blend on high until emulsified, and then slowly add your chick peas and 1.5 t salt. Blend until the consistency of soft-serve ice cream. Adjust salt and tahini to taste. Much smoother than a food processor. Some like the rough texture that comes from using a food processor - we prefer the smooth. It's nice to have choices! Btw - We use a lighter oil - usually canola - when blending, but pour the heavier, fruity-flavored Lebanese olive oil (Lebanon Valley or Cortas) over it when serving. I like a sprinkle of cayenne over it, too!

Remember that baking soda destroys most B vitamins. Cooking will go faster if you add baking soda, but you will destroy many of the good things we eat legumes for if we are strict vegetarians or vegans. Many guides to classic French cuisine often include baking soda in blanching water for green beans and other quick-cooking vegetables. This was done before good pressure cookers were widely available, but there's no need to include this destructive step now.Baking soda greatly reduces the nutritional value of any cooking water to which it is added. I would suggest cooking the beans in a pressure cooker if prep time is a concern. Otherwise, just cook longer.

When do you recommend adding the olive oil? I've made this recipe twice - once adding it with the chickpeas in the beginning and once with the lemon juice at the end. Both methods worked well.Thank you! I've wanted to make classic Lebanese style hummus for so long. I'm glad I finally found your website.PS - I soaked the chickpeas and cooked them in a pressure cooker for 15 minutes (3-4 minutes longer than usual). They came out perfect!

Hi Kate, I don't have a preferred rule about adding the olive oil with the chickpeas, so apparently you got it to work fine with both methods. Regarding pressure cooker, wow I'm impressed. I've never used one but cooking hummus in 15 minutes is phenomenal good job!

Salam to you all,
I have tried years ago to boil the chick peas with baking soda and it was not good idea since it will be absorbed during the boiling process and will leave a taste.
As far processing the chick peas while it is hot, I never tried it before! Is it better than processing it after cooling it over night?

salam Mohammad - we use baking soda sometimes in soaking the chickpeas overnight. If you go this route, you need to rinse the chickpeas really well, multiple times in cold water before you boil them. This helps get rid of baking soda leftovers. Also as soon as boiling occurs, a lot of white foam will appear on the surface of water so this also needs to be scooped away.Regarding processing chickpeas, it tastes much better when processed and served hot. It also gives a smoother texture.

Hello,These are my first familiarization steps with your blog and thank you very much, I have very successfully tried a few. Regarding hummus, I understand it should be eaten right away and warm, what about some leftovers, is it possible to keep in a fridge for some time or even freeze.Dalia

EdgardNovember 25, 2014

Hi Dalia - regarding keeping the leftover hummus, what we do sometimes is after we boil the chickpeas, we grind in the food processor the quantity we want and we put the remaining whole boiled chickpeas in a plastic or ziplog bag and store in the freezer for up to 6 months. Once ready you can put them overnight in the fridge to thaw then drop them in boiled water just for a couple of minutes prior to gringing/preparing again. As far as storing the already-made hummus (ie cream), it can stay in the fridge for a few days if you place it in an airtight container.

siti adzemiAugust 25, 2014

assalamualaikum .... haiii i m siti from malaysia but working in riyadh, saudia for about 5 years now. i love humus and tabouleh sooooo much, so i try to find the recipe and i found ur blog. thank u soo much for a simple yet delicious recipe.

Thanks for the recipe. I stayed in Dubai for long time and now that I'm back home in Manila I miss Lebanese food. I'm having a hard time looking for the ingredients though but my friends who come by from the middle east bring me some especially the tahini, As it is really difficult to find here. Again thanks. I'll be making this in the weekend.

Hello. I am not sure if anyone asked this already, as there were too many comments to leave. My question is, what is the difference between using a tin of ready to use Chickpeas and doing it from scratch.Thank You

Mimo the main difference is in freshness. If you boil the chickpeas they'll taste better and fresher than ones from a can. But a can is not bad either, it's good when you're in a rush and don't have time to wait 24 hours to soak the chickpeas.

I make this recipe today and have to tell you it so DELICIOUS!! I can never again eat the stuff they call Hummas and sell in the grocery stores! That is thin, lumpy, watery, cold, tasteless...this recipe is thick, creamy, delicious. It is amazingly delicious! I did not use the baking soda either in the soaking or the cooking...and my Hummas is very smooth...did not take any longer to cook than the recipe said.Thank you so much for sharing this recipe...it is fabulous! Can't wait to try more Lebanese recipes! There is one that I saw on a Public Broadcast Channel with ground lamb..that was actually pounded lamb! I have to find the original Lebanese home pounding tool...it looks to be stone...tall...round hole..rather deep...:) Most intriquing....the garlic and the lamb were pounded in this vessle...then spread in a round pan...in layers with?? Ugh..I forgot...Thank YOU so much....
Dolores
Oregon

I made this recipe today and have to tell you it so DELICIOUS!! I can never again eat the stuff they call Hummas and sell in the grocery stores! That is thin, lumpy, watery, cold, tasteless...this recipe is thick, creamy, delicious. It is amazingly delicious! I did not use the baking soda either in the soaking or the cooking...and my Hummas is very smooth...did not take any longer to cook than the recipe said.Thank you so much for sharing this recipe...it is fabulous! Can't wait to try more Lebanese recipes! There is one that I saw on a Public Broadcast Channel with ground lamb..that was actually pounded lamb! I have to find the original Lebanese home pounding tool...it looks to be stone...tall...round hole..rather deep...:) Most intriguing....the garlic and the lamb were pounded in this vessel...then spread in a round pan...in layers with?? Ugh..I forgot...Thank YOU so much....
Dolores
Oregon

Thank you for your feedback Dolores and I'm glad you liked the Hummus. I totally agree, once you make it at home you never want to have it out again... Regarding adding lamb on it, yes many folks do that. Basically you can cut lamb in small peaces, or use ground lamb, then sautee them with onions and 7 spices and decorate the hummus plate with a few pieces. That stone pestle/mortar you're talking about is a very classic old-times Lebanese kitchen tool (if we're talking about the same thing). The mortar is carved from limestone rock, and weighs probably 80-100 lbs and the pestle is made from wood. This is used to make Kibbeh as well... nobody uses it anymore though, folks use a food processor these days...

vincentJuly 17, 2013

Hi Edgard,
Do you have the recipe for Kubus(pita bread) ?
Really miss the middle east Kubus.

I just made it from scratch using your recipe, it turned out very well. In fact, I even made the tahini sauce from scratch. I had a question, how is the consistency of hummus supposed to be? Mine is very fine but I think I overcooked the chickpeas.

Hi Deeksha - I'm glad you enjoyed the Hummus. Its consistency should be like a thick paste. I've had it made very fine, and I've also had it a bit granulated and both were tasty. The most important thing is to get the flavor right. If you've got that, consistency is a bit more secondary.

I'm very excited to try this recipe! but I don't know what Tahini to use... I bought the joyva sesame tahini. but im not sure if i should refigerate it or not. It is so clumped up in the bottom that its making it very difficult to even mix. help!

Hi Vanessa - sorry for the late reply. Tahini should not be refrigerated otherwise it will clump. It is a very thick paste so it naturally settles on the bottom of the jar and needs stirring prior to using. However if at room temperature, the paste is too clumpy it may be an indication that it's old. We usually buy the "Al Wadi" brand which is made in Lebanon. We like it however there may be other good brands out there. You can buy it from local Middle Eastern stores, and if you don't have any in your neighborhood feel free to check out website http://store.mamaslebanesekitchen.com or every Amazon.com.

Hey!!
I'm literally about to make this. Thing is...my mom already cooked the garbanzo beans and we did not measure out a pound. Now that they've expanded, i dont know how many cups of cooked garbanzo beans I need to make this hummus. HELP!!
i'll be waiting for your reply :)

Hi Mariam - I don't know off hand how much a cup of garbanzo beans weighs, but try to approximate and get in there a pound or so.. if you have less, no problem, just start with very little dozes of Tahini and garlic, in the food processor, and keep on adding them slowly until you hit a good balance.. When we do it at home we almost never measure/weigh, we just add a dash of this and a dash of that... I hope it turns out well.

This blog is great! Just now came across it while eating store-bought hummus and realizing that it is sooooo not even close to being as good as the authentic homemade hummus that I had from this WONDERFUL little Mediterranean restaurant while visiting my dad in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. So, I decided that I will attempt (for the very first time) to make hummus myself. Your recipe is, by far, the one with the best details that I've found. One question... why is baking soda used in the soaking and boiling? What would be different about the hummus if no baking soda was used when boiling the chickpeas?

Hello Moni and thank you for your kind words. Regarding the baking soda, it's used to soften the Chickpeas. Otherwise you'd have to boil them for a much longer time than what the recipe lists. The key is that right after that night of soaking, you'll need to rinse them really well to get rid of the baking soda. If you decide to try it let us know how it goes :)

I came upon this post while looking for recipes on how to make hummus. i live in Mumbai India and love hummus. Never made it before this. was astounded to see how easy it was. Thanks a lot :) KalyanI wrote a post on it and linked your post to it http://finelychopped-k.blogspot.com/2011/07/calling-hummus-tale-of-tiniest-kitten.html

thank you for your great blog!! .. ps..for falafel making if you dont want to do the rolling pin method you can also soak as usual and rub the skins off in the same soaking water and bowl( when I say rub I mean put a handful of chickpeas in your palms and rub the hands together as if warming your palms) the chickpeas skins will break loose from the rubbing back and forth,plunge the peas back in the water and the loosened skins will float to top , discard them..continue adding more water if necessary..after they are skinned drain and dry thoroughly.. hope that is clear!!

yes my family does it the same way with the rolling pin.. especially for falafel making,or we cook the chickpeas ,then drain,reserving some cooking liquid for the pureeing,working by handful,submerge the chickpeas in a deep pot of cold water and rub the chickpeas between your hands to rub and pinch off the skins..the skins will rise to the surface,remove and discard them,repeat with the remaining hummos,,discard that bowl of cold water when done,peeling and sieving like this takes about 15 minutes,or finally if there is group to help we peel them one by one sans water.. what a huge difference in taste, texture and digestability..in the falafel making the crumb of the patty is much lighter,fluffier,less wet and better cooked and again easier to digest..

marhaba..just discovered your wonderful blog and recipes!!!..but to truly make an authentic successful hummus bi tahineh one must peel the chickpeas before or after cooking..this makes for a much creamier, more intense flavored,much easier to digest dish..this used to be done by the traditional Shami hummos makers( and many still do) but the tradition is sadly disappering as we are all in a hurry..but once you eat this with skinned chickpeas you will never go back..this also should be done for falafel making after the soaking of the hummos..I noticed you do it in the kibbeh batatah recipe..

Hello Samir and thank you for your note. Do you follow the same process we showed in the Potato Kibbe recipe to skin the chickpeas? I agree that it yields a nicer hummus I think I'll update the article eventually to include the process of skinning hummus. Thank you we appreciate your feedback.